


Out of The Dark

by MeteoraWrites



Series: Here's to High School and Hot Guys [1]
Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Canonical Child Abuse, Developing Friendships, First Meetings, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Holding Hands, M/M, Music, Nick Clark is a good friend, Nightmares, Pre-Slash, Recreational Drug Use, Sharing a Bed, Teenage Drama, Teenage Rebellion, Trick Flufffest 2k19, Troy Otto's had a hard life, that's in the past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-19 16:23:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18973657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeteoraWrites/pseuds/MeteoraWrites
Summary: If there is one thing Nick Clark knows, it’s ‘at-risk youths’. He is one, after all. And one that has a way of sniffing out others and figuring out what makes them tick what motivates them and what they want out of life. Some he befriends, others he abandons quickly. Some brands of crazy just don’t mix, after all. And the last thing you want is a volatile mix. He’s been burned enough times now to know better.So when a new kid appears in the halls of Paul R. Williams High School with hunched shoulders and one hell of a shiner surrounding his right eye with all the hidden charm of a wolf in sheep's clothing? Well, Nick can’t help but be curious. His instincts telling him to check this guy out.





	Out of The Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Ok Since I noticed there wasn’t any, & since the show in s1 did kinda started out there, Request for High School Trick AU, it’s so intriguing, maybe with Troy being the new troubled transfer student w/ a shady past & being just removed from the ranch? Thanks :-D - Sarah <3

 

If there is one thing Nick Clark knows, it’s ‘at-risk youths’. He is one, after all. And one that has a way of sniffing out others and figuring out what makes them tick what motivates them and what they want out of life. Some he befriends, others he abandons quickly. Some brands of crazy just don’t mix, after all. And the last thing you want is a volatile mix. He’s been burned enough times now to know better.

So when a new kid appears in the halls of Paul R. Williams High School with hunched shoulders and one hell of a shiner surrounding his right eye with all the hidden charm of a wolf in sheep's clothing? Well, Nick can’t help but be curious. His instincts telling him to check this guy out.

Nick doesn’t approach him right off the bat. Just kind of hang back in the halls between classes and observes him. They have Biology together, so he at least knows the guys' name now. And that he’s apparently been “homeschooled” for most of his life and has an interest in science.

When they have to pair up for a project a week into Troy being there, Nick takes the opportunity and slides into the seat beside the taller boy, offering a charming smile to the blank look he gets in return. “Hi, I’m Nick,” he says as he offers a copy of their assignment worksheet.

“Troy,” he says carefully, taking the paper with one hand while the other tightly grips a pencil like a lifeline. His posture is hunched again, even though he usually seems to relax during class. Nick attributes it to having to interact with new people. Homeschooled kids never get enough social interaction.

“You really don’t want to be here, huh?” Nick can’t help but ask as he looks away. He doesn’t mean to make the kid uncomfortable, and he’ll play nice and be his normal chill self around him until given a reason to act otherwise.

“Got no choice,” Troy shrugs, trying for indifference but he’s still so tense that the motion fails horribly and is jerky and awkward. Nick tries not to find it oddly endearing, he really does.

“Sure you do, you could ditch. Or drop out,” Nick offers in return, lowering his voice when the others in the room start to quiet and work on their assignment.

“No, I can’t. Now shut up and work on the assignment,” Troy bites out harshly, surprising Nick. There’s a kind of quiet anger radiating from the other boy all of the sudden, and Nick makes a mental note to not push his luck.

“Yeah, sure, whatever you want man.” Nick concedes, raising his hands in a placating manner before starting to move the items they need for the project around on the table. They barely talk for the rest of the class and Nick figures that’s that.

~~~~~

Or it was until the next day when Troy actually sits at Nick’s table at lunch. Nick usually sits with only a few people. Gloria and Calvin and one or two other kids to the whole picnic style metal table that can seat a dozen easily. Glo and Cal give Nick a questioning look, to which he just shrugs and goes back to eating his spaghetti. He isn’t going to pry. If the guy wants to sit with them who’s he to question it.. He isn’t sure what Troy is aiming to gain here, but he can wait and see.

“Hey,” Cal says despite the look Nick gives him that clearly reads ‘wtf dude, leave him alone?’.

Troy glances up from his meal to stare warily at their group. “Hey,” he greets back with a small wave of his fork before rather violently stabbing a meatball on his tray.

“You’re the new guy, Troy, right? What brings you here, Troy? Parent’s drag you here from another town?” Cal asks, all cheery and personable. He’s one of the better actors Nick knows. But from the looks of it, Troy isn’t buying the act.

“Moved in with my brother. Had to go to a school and this was the closest one to where we live.” Is the only answer they get before Troy drops his fork onto his tray and gets up to leave.

Once he’s gone the group trades looks of interest and confusion.

“Maybe something happened to his parents?” Glo guesses with a shrug before tucking a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear and looking in the direction the gangly brunet left.

“Maybe,” Cal agrees. “Or maybe he got in trouble with the cops and his parents kicked him out so he had to come to live with his brother. You saw the bruise on his eye when he got here, he has them all over. Saw hem all over his back when he was changing for gym the other day. Dude looks like he belongs in Fight Club.”

That gets a worried look from both Gloria and Nick. Both have been smacked around by their parents, and they know the kind of shit that can push you to do. Neither says anything though. Cal doesn’t get it. His family is great. A little poor. Which is why he started dealing. When things are bad he keeps Nick and Glo well supplied. But he doesn’t get their addiction or what it’s like to have a parent be so enraged that they just start hitting you.

To a degree, Gloria doesn’t entirely get it either. Her stepmother slapped her a few times over the years. Nothing like the beatings Nick’s taken when Madison is drunk or just plain furious for whatever reason.

The bell rings, bringing Nick back to reality and the clamor of trays and grumbling of kids who don’t want to go back to class. They don’t have any classes together that day, but Nick finds his mind wandering back to Troy Otto and what kind of secrets he must be keeping.

~~~~~

The next day Troy isn’t in their biology class, and the teacher doesn’t call his name at attendance, which means he either called out or switched classes. A quick glance at the class roster on the teachers' desk when he goes up to, write on the board reveals that Troy called out for the rest of the week.

That strikes Nick as odd. Usually, if a student is sick they just do a mark meaning until further notice. The note beside his name clearly said out for x number of days. That detail nags at him the rest of the day. In fact, it nags at him to the point where he waits around after school to ‘catch a ride home with his mom’.

Which means he has an hour to sneak into the file room and find out what he can about Troy. Something doesn’t seem quite right here. The guy’s too quiet. And knowing what he does about the bruises and the flash of a temper he saw he wants to at least find out the other boys address so he can maybe walk by and maybe take a peak. See how he’s doing, maybe offer to go over what he missed in class if he gets caught in the neighborhood.

Picking the lock to the room he needs access to is ridiculously easy. The school is old and the locks are cheap. They may have gone all high tech with the metal detectors that are being installed, but they still lack security cameras in key areas, and they sure as hell haven’t upgraded the locks.

Slipping into the room, Nick lets the door close behind him with a soft clock. He doesn’t bother with the lights. Just uses his phone to see what he’s doing. The cabinets are alphabetized, so he just has to find O for Otto, Troy, and take a quick peek.

The quick peek turns into a full half hour sitting on the floor with his back to the cabinet as he reads and re-reads the few short pages in the folder. His school records go as far as third grade when he was referred to counseling for his issues interacting with other children. His father pulled him out to ‘home school’ him after that.

The next paper in the folder is a letter from a court in San Diego explaining that Troy comes from an abusive home and was never homeschooled as his father said he would be. He was raised in a hostile setting and was removed from the home when a raid was done by the FBI on their ranch to search for a stockpile of illegally gained guns and military equipment.

Troy was found in the basement with several bruises and was quickly taken to the hospital where they found evidence of past trauma and improperly healed broken bones. Residents of the ranch claimed not to know anything about the abuse, but his mother confessed to everything.

Troy’s legal guardian is his older brother, Jake, who is 8 years older and a lawyer. He has a house only a few blocks away from Nicks own.

A text causes Nick’s phone to buzz in his hand, shocking him out of the stupor he’s fallen into. He had to read the pages before him three times for it to make sense.

The text is from his mom, asking if he’s ready to leave. He shoots back a quick text of yes and he’ll meet her at the car.

It’s clear that he’s shaken when he gets into the car with Madison, and she turns to face him rather than starting the engine and leaving the parking space. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

Blinking, Nick considers lying and saying it’s nothing, but he just doesn’t have it in him at the moment. “I’m just worried about a friend. Well, he’s not really a friend, he’s the new kid, Troy? He wasn’t in school today.”

A look of surprise flashes across Madison’s face before she turns back to face the wheel and start the car. “You don’t need to worry, he had somewhere to be today, but he’ll be back in a few days. I spoke to his brother this morning.”

His mom’s word don’t exactly do anything to ease his worries, and Nick sinks down into his seat and hugs his backpack to his chest as he looks out the window. He took a picture of Troy’s address with his phone, he could just go for a walk and take a look. See for himself that Troy is indeed fine.

“Don’t worry so much, Nick. Everything with Troy is going to be fine. You have my word,” Madison assures, her tone more counselor like than motherly. He hates when she talks like that.

“Yeah, right…” he agrees a beat later with a sigh. Her words just make him want to go even more.

Unfortunately, Alicia has other plans and demands that he helps her with her science project when he gets home. That eats up a good three hours, then dinner takes another, and by the time he’s able to slip away, it’s getting close to dark.

Lucky for him that just means Madison is out on a date with Travis until late and Alicia is busy with her homework, so he can easily slip out undetected.

The walk to Troy’s street doesn’t take long, maybe ten minutes, and what he sees when the house is finally in view is surprising. Troy is out in the driveway in a rumpled black suit, back to a silver pickup and looking very uncomfortable while a man who Nick assumes is Troy’s brother yells at someone over the phone from inside of their house. His figure clear through the large bay window.

For a moment Nick thinks he should turn tail and run, but then Troy spots him and it’s too late. The brunet looks confused a moment before stuffing his hands in his pockets and starting to walk down the block towards Nick.

He looks good, despite the yellow shadow of a still-healing bruise around his eye and across his cheekbone. “What are you doing here, Nicky?”

The question is a mix of curiosity and threat, though Nick isn’t really sure how it is, just that he feels vaguely threatened by it. “Needed to get out of the house for a while and walk around,” Nick says with a shrug. “What’s with the suit? Someone die?”

Troy actually flinches at the question, and Nick instantly regrets it.

“Shit, man, I was joking. Did someone actually die?”

Troy shakes his head before bringing a hand up to rub at his face tiredly, a gesture that makes him look much older than 17. “Not any time soon,” he grumbles before meeting Nick’s gaze, intense blue eyes meeting warm brown. “Look, I need to get outa here for a while. You know a place? Preferably without other people?”

The question has Nick taken aback for a moment and he only nods before pointing behind himself with his thumb and gesturing for Troy to follow. He does, and they walk in silence for a good three blocks before Troy speaks up.

“Your buddy Calvin is a real piece of work,” he notes, tone sounding much more chipper than Nick would expect from the air of tension hanging around the guy.

“What’d he do this time?” Nick asks cautiously. Cal can be a dumbass at times. And just as much of a gossip as Gloria.

That gets a snort out of Troy, who shakes his head like he can’t decide if he wants to elaborate or not. After a beat, he sighs and gives in. “He had the gall to follow me home the other day and ask why I’m so banged up and on edge all the time. Like my life is any of his damn business.”

Thinking about it, Nick isn’t surprised Cal did that. The guy likes to poke at people’s weaknesses. Find the cracks in them. If he can’t get you to trust him he does shit to make you think he’s just a curious idiot that didn’t mean anything by it. Nick doesn’t think Troy would buy that play for even a second.

“Cal’s an idiot. Just ignore him,” Nick says dismissively with a wave of his hand before stuffing it into his pocket. “Him and Glo like to know everybody's business.”

“But not you?” Troy asks with a chuckle.

Nick rolls his eyes at that before pointing to an old blue house with peeling paint that’s surrounded by a fence and multiple signs saying it’s condemned. “Nah, man. If people wanna tell me what’s going on with them that’s cool, but I won’t push for info on something that’s none of my business.” It’s not a total lie. He’s curious as all hell, but he can feel the tension radiating from Troy, he’s a powder keg and Nick is a lit match. He knows better than to risk saying the wrong thing and set the other boy off.

His words seem to strike a chord with Troy, and he actually relaxes a little. “So what is this place?” he asks as they reach the fence and start to slink around towards the backyard, where there are a few loose boards hidden by a large bush that they have to crouch to get behind.

“It was some old couples house. They died about a year ago and their family found out the house had been falling apart of years when they flew out to try and sell it. They decided to have it torn down instead, but I guess it’s tied up in court or something and they can’t do anything until that’s all settled. So, for now, it’s where I go to get away from my family,” Nick explains as he holds the broken boards aside for Troy to slip into the yard first.

Troy gives him an odd look before climbing through the opening. A moment later Nick’s in behind him and quickly leading the way to the back door, which has a broken lock thanks to a crowbar Nick snagged from Travis’ truck one night.

Once they’re inside it’s a bit hard to see, most of the windows have been boarded up or painted over. Without thinking Nick reaches back and grabs hold of Troy’s wrist, causing the other boy to freeze on the spot. Nick let’s go a second later and turns to look at him. “Dude, sorry. Just try and relax, there are some weak boards in the floor and I was just going to help you avoid them.”

Nick can practically see the gears turning in Troy’s head for a long moment before he holds out his hand for Nick to take. Which he does, and he’s honestly surprised when Troy closes his fingers around Nick’s hand and holds on a bit tighter than necessary. His hands are rough, but warm, and Nick wonders if that’s something that will change now that he isn’t living on a ranch.

The back door opens into an old mud room and connects to the kitchen from there. Once they’re inside the actual house it’s easy to see why it’s going to be torn down. There are boards missing from the floor, panels gone from the ceiling, and something that looks like vines is growing up a wall from a crack at the bottom.

Troy holds onto Nick’s hand all the way into the living room, which has several pieces of plywood strewn about the floor to make it safe to walk on. The old owners' furniture is still there, and there are two large overstuffed couches and an armchair to match. Nick leads Troy to the first couch and actually has to wiggle his fingers to remind the other boy they’re holding hands still and get him to let go.

To his credit, Troy looks embarrassed and ducks his head sheepishly before taking a seat on the end of the couch in front of him. “So, what do you usually do while you’re hiding away here?”

“Smoke weed and listen to music,” Nick admits with a smirk as he flops down onto the opposite end of the couch to stare at Troy, who looks a bit surprised.

“Got a bit of a drug problem, Nicky?” Troy asks, tone teasing.

That makes Nick snort a laugh before he stretches out on the couch with his feet just shy of touching Troy’s leg. “Depends who you talk to, but basically, yeah. I’m an addict. Been to rehab twice for heroin. The pot is nothing, it’s just what I do when I’m trying to stay clean.”

The wide-eyed look Troy is giving makes Nick want to laugh and maybe ask if he’s alright. “I get the feeling you’ve never met anyone like me before, have you, Troy?”

Clearing his throat, Troy shakes his head and shifts in his seat to better face Nick, one leg pulled up onto the couch and an arm over the backrest. “What got you started?” It’s a simple question, but a loaded one. Too many ways to answer and too many ways things could be taken wrong.

“Well, if you ask my therapist it’s because I was born this way and was basically doomed to start using thanks to genetics and stupidity.” It’s true, that’s basically what he’s been told. Though when he says what he knows triggered his first decision to use, nobody has really believed him yet. His home life is too perfect despite his father dying in a car accident.

“Sounds like bullshit,” Troy chuckles. “Tell me what made you start using, not the reasons some crackpot therapist came up with. Don’t give me the psychoanalyzed version of the truth.”

That has Nick taken aback for a second. Nobody’s ever wanted him to really explain. Not even Glo or Cal. They just think his home life sucks and his mom smacks him once in a while. “Real deal? My mom’s abusive and I kind of think she’s the reason my dad died. But everyone thinks she’s this saint of a woman that lost a husband and has a problematic junkie son. Now can we talk about something else? This shit is too heavy.”

Troy actually laughs at Nick’s bluntness and leans back so he’s resting against the arm of the couch. He eyes Nick in a way that Nick can’t decipher for a brief moment before his gaze slips around the dimly lit room. “Can we get some more light in here?’

Chuckling, Nick gets up and wanders over to where a box is sitting beside the armchair. Inside are all the things he keeps there for his alone time. A dozen candle filled mason jars that are painted different colors to make the place feel more comfortable, his spare junky old brick of an iPod, and a few things of canned soda and various snacks.

He takes a few jars out and brings them over to the coffee table before fishing a book of matches out of his pants pocket and striking one. When he looks up Troy’s watching with one eyebrow raised as he carefully lights the candles in each jar and gets them arranged on the table to create a glowing rainbow of sorts. “Gotta have the right mood when you’re getting high. Nothing sucks more than the vibe of a place bringing you down.”

Troy gives a slight nod at that. “I’ll take your word for it…” he drawls, a hint of an accent that Nick had noted before growing stronger.

“Dude, I gotta ask, where are you from? You mostly sound like you’re from somewhere in Cali, but then there are times when you have like a hint of a southern accent thrown in.” It’s been bugging Nick since the day he first heard Troy speak in the halls.

“Two hours east of San Diego,” Troy grumbles as he shifts on the couch so he can kick off his shoes and loosen his tie. “Grew up on a ranch. Picked the accent up from the workers and my dad.”

Nodding, Nick looks around the room to see if he’s missed anything. “Are you hungry? I’ve got some chips ‘n stuff kicking around. I might even have some cookies left.”

Troy snorts at the offer. “I’m good. Think I just need to lay back and pretend the world doesn’t exist for a while,” he admits with a tired sigh. In that moment he once again looks much older than 17, and Nick really wants to do something to help. Nobody their age should look like they have the world on their shoulders.

“You like music?” Nick finds himself asking as he wanders back over to his box of goodies and snatches up his iPod, along with a few cans of ginger ale and the big bag of Doritos he stashed there a few days ago.

“You like breathing?” Troy counters with a small scoff as he stretches out on the couch, his long frame taking up most of it. He’s tall, at least two or three inches taller than Nick, and Nick is almost six feet and supposedly still growing.

Nick rolls his eyes but says nothing as he tosses the bag of Doritos on the floor right where two couches meet at the armrests and sets the sodas on the corner of the coffee table that’s easily within reach. Kicking off his own shoes and flops down onto the other couch so his head is on end closest to Troy’s. “Here,” he says, holding out one earbud for the other boy to take.

After a moment's hesitation Troy takes it and examines it briefly before popping it into his left ear. Nick does the same with his right and after a moment’s scrolling through his options, he puts on a playlist of the heavier songs he has. He figures Troy can appreciate them, seeing as the guy has a Rise Against bumper sticker on the truck that he’s fairly certain is his and not his lawyer brothers.

The first song to come on is Attack by Thirty Seconds to Mars, and Troy makes a little surprised sound at it but doesn’t comment on the music otherwise.

They spend a good hour laying like that, Troy occasionally asking what song is playing while they munch on Doritos and drink room temperature soda.

Eventually Troy gets a text from his brother asking where he is and if he’s okay. He reluctantly texts that he’s fine and is just out walking with a classmate and he’ll be home soon. “I need to get headed,” he grumbles as he removes the bud from his ear and holds it out for Nick to take.

“Yeah? You want me to walk you back?” Nick asks, already clocking off the old iPod and winding the cord of the earbuds around the bulk of it as he sits up.

Troy looks conflicted, glancing between Nick and is phone a few times before nodding. “Sure,” is all he says as he stands and slips his shoes back on.

Nick says nothing as Troy grabs his hand on the way out, he did say he’d guide the other boy through the house earlier, and it is dark. If Nick lets himself enjoy it a little that’s nobody’s business but his own, and he finds himself missing the warmth just a little when they’re outside and Troy hesitantly let’s go as they walk through the tall grass of the back yard.

Soon they’re walking down the sidewalk in the direction of Troy’s house, bodies close enough that they bump shoulders now and then. There’s still a tension to how Troy carries himself, but he’s more relaxed than Nick has seen him in the week the other boy has been attending the same school as him. It feels like some kind of victory that he’s the reason why.

When they reach Troy’s block he pauses, and Nick turns back to look at him in the glow of the street light. “Listen, I really appreciate you taking me to your secret hangout for a few hours. I needed that.”

Nodding, Nick stuffs his hands in his pockets and gives a small smile. “No problem, man. You’re welcome to go back and hang if you need to get away for a while. You’ll have to bring your own tunes though, I need to charge my iPod.”

That gets a chuckle out of Troy, who nods and steps forward to place a hand on Nick’s shoulder before he passes. “I think we can be friends now,” he says in a warm tone that gets Nick laughing.

“Yeah, man, we’re friends. Which means if Calvin is a dick again let me know and I’ll deck him for you,” Nick offers as he turns to watch Troy as he walks away.

“I’d pay to see that,” Troy calls out without looking back. “Good night, Nicky. Be seein’ you.”

“Night, Troy,” Nick calls after as he turns and starts to walk in the direction of his own home.

He goes back to the abandoned house the next night, not surprised when Troy showed up not even half an hour later with what appears to be a shiny new iPod full of music and a bag of snacks that he drops into Nick’s supply bo,x without a word.

They take up the same positions as the night before, Troy sprawled on one couch while Nick is sprawled on another. Troy occasionally asking if Nick has heard of this band or this song that his brother loaded onto his iPod for him.

It becomes an almost nightly occurrence. Nick sneaking out to chill for a few hours and Troy showing up not long after. Eventually, they end up on the same couch, both still laying down but with their feet up by the others sides as Nick smokes a joint and tells Troy about what he’s missed at school the last few days.

He doesn’t pry about what Troy is going through, and Troy doesn’t share any details. Just says one night he’s been getting dragged to court with his brother for family stuff. Nick tosses him a bag of mini snickers and asks if he wants to lie to his brother and Nick’s mom and just crash there for the night. It’s Saturday. No court or school the next day. So no reason to go home if they don’t’ want to.

It only takes a few moments for Troy to give a slight nod and pull out his phone, calling Jake and asking if he can crash at his buddy Nick’s house for the night and explaining they only live a few blocks away so it’s not like he’s far if Jake needs him.

His brother agrees readily and actually encourages Troy to ask to do so more often.

Nick isn’t honestly expecting Madison to agree, in which case he’ll go home for an hour before sneaking out his window. When he gets a text back saying to have fun and call if he needs anything he lets out a manic sounding laugh that gets Troy looking at him like he’s grown a second head.

“What’s so funny, Nicky?” Troy asks as he pokes Nick in the ribs with his toes.

“My mom actually agreed. The only place she’s ever okay with me staying is Calvin’s house. And that’s because we’ve been friends since we were 7 years old.” Nick admits with another chuckle.

“She probably figures you won’t try and pull anything since my brother is a lawyer,” Troy wagers with a grin. “So, do you have blankets stashed somewhere around here?”

Rolling his eyes, Nick drags himself up to sitting and takes another hit from his neglected joint before standing and wandering over to the stairs that go up to the second floor. He hops over the few broken ones, minding the loose nails here and there and the broken bit of banister before reaching the top. There are several boxes in each room, and it’s easy to find the boxed up blankets that were left behind.

He returns downstairs a moment later with the roach of his nearly gone joint between his lips and an arm full of puffy blankets. “You want a pillow too or are you good?” Nick asks, words a little muffled from the way he speaks without opening half his mouth to keep from dropping the last of his weed on the blankets in his arms.

“I’m good, but I’ll settle for a lullaby since you don’t seem like the type to read me a story,” Troy jokes as he reaches out and takes one of the blankets from Nicks grasp. It isn’t really cold in here at night, but it’s easier to sleep with a blanket and Nick gets that.

“Sorry, fresh out of lullabies. Lucky you, you brought that nice new iPod to listen to,”  Nick says in mock sweetness as he stubs out the end of his roach and moves to get situated on the other couch with his own blanket.

Snorting a laugh, Troy doesn’t argue as he shakes out the blanket he’s been given and covers his legs with it. Things between them fall silent again and both men lay in the near dark as the candles Nick lit early slowly burn out in the multi-colored jars.

Nick thought for sure that Troy was already asleep as he starts to doze, but soft words draw him back to consciousness.

“Hey, Nick…” he pauses and waits for Nick to hum in acknowledgment before continuing.”y’know before, when you said your mom’s abusive? So’s mine. And my dad. S’why I’ve been goin' to court ‘n why I was beat to crap when I first got here. They took me away and brought me to live with Jake after keeping me in a hospital for a week to make sure I wasn’t majorly fucked up after ten years of being a punching bag.”

Nick stays silent for a long moment, unsure of what to say at first. “I’m glad you got out, man. I like having you around.”

“... Yeah, I like havin’ you around too…” troy agrees, tone showing how close he is to sleep. There’s a sound of shifting fabric, probably Troy rolling over or something. And that’s the last thing heard before they both nod off.

~~~~~

Nick isn’t sure what wakes him, he just knows it’s still dark and he’s not anywhere near ready to be awake. He’s about to roll over and go back to sleep when he hears the unmistakable sound of a whimper.

“Troy?” He asks blearily as he rolls onto his back and forces himself to sit up despite the heaviness in his sleep addled body. When there’s no response he reaches out and grabs his phone off the coffee table. Hitting the power button casts the room in a faint glow and it’s just enough for him to see that Troy is tangled in his blanket and looking miserable. Most likely from a nightmare.

“Hey, Troy, wake up,” he says it louder this time, and the other boy jumps awake with a start, clearly not recognizing his surroundings in the low light. “Dude, you’re alright, it was just a dream,” Nick offers softly, not wanting to startle him further.

“Yeah... Right…” Troy says, sounding a little out of breath and shaky.” Right... Yeah... I’m good. Sorry.”

Considering his options, Nick decides to go with his big-brother instinct here and kicks off his own blanket before standing and stretching with a jawn. “Move over,”

That gets Troy’s head snapping around to look over at Nick in the dim light still being cast by his phone screen. “You’re kidding.”

“I don’t kid about things like this. You had a nightmare and I know from experience going back to sleep after one is either a major bitch and takes forever, or you nod right off and go right back into it. So the best thing to do is not sleep alone. Now move over, dumbass. Or I’ll shove you over,” Nick reasons as he moves so he’s standing by the middle of Troy’s couch.

It’s hard to make out his expression in the dim light, but Troy’s studying Nick with an unreadable one for a good long moment before he sighs and shifts on the couch so his lithe frame is pressed to the back cushions. He rolls so his back is to Nick, which makes the shorter boy snort before he carefully climbs onto the couch behind him and gets situated under the blanket.

It’s a little awkward and takes them a bit to figure out how to lay, but eventually, they end up with both of them using Nick’s bent arm as a pillow, as Nick wraps the other around Troy’s waist and lets his hand sort of loosely hold Troy’s shirt.

“This good?” Nick asks, still tired but also nervous. He’s curled up like this with Cal before. But doing so with Troy is sending his heart racing in his chest like it’s looking for an exit.

“... Yeah... This is good... Thanks, Nicky,” Troy mutters softly,

Nick doesn’t respond, doesn’t trust himself not to say something stupid or give away how he’s feeling all of a sudden with the other boy in his arms.

Sleep comes again for Troy quickly, but Nick finds himself lying away for a while longer just listening to him breathe softly. At one point Troy snuffles in his sleep and nuzzles into Nick’s arm as he leans back into him a bit.

It’s warm and comfortable, and eventually, the pounding of Nick’s heart slows and he joins Troy in sleep. Neither of them says anything about Troy’s nightmare in the morning, but Troy does give Nick this smile that’s honest to god the most breathtaking look Nick has ever been on the receiving end of and it’s all he can do not to kiss Troy then and there.

He wants to. But he’s not ready for that. And he knows Troy sure as hell isn’t either, assuming he even swings that way.

But then again, Troy grabs his hand once more as they make to leave in the morning, and he doesn’t let go until they’re at the fence. They part ways on the other side, Nick promising to come by and help Troy with his homework that afternoon and Troy promising to not fall asleep on him when they get to the boring shit.

Things go on like this for a few more weeks. Meeting up at the old house to get away for a while and just be in each others company. They crash there at least one night each weekend, Now with Nick and Troy curling up on the same couch like it’s the most natural thing in the world to go to sleep in each other's arms.

It’s more than friendship, but not something they talk about or try to define. It works for them. And it makes the hell of Troy’s family drama and the hassles of being a junior in high school bearable. Nick doesn’t even want to do drugs when Troy is around, except for a joint here and there.

Nick thinks their time together is having a positive impact on Troy as well. He starts to be more relaxed at school. Actually talking to people and coming out of his shell more. He still has that little flame of rage hiding inside him that comes out when someone crosses him, but he’s also charming, and quick-witted. Nick’s initial thought of the other boy being a wolf in sheep’s clothing was right. And god help him if he doesn’t love it.

Troy Otto coming to Paul R Williams High School might just be the best thing to happen in either of their lives. And their time there together is far from over.


End file.
